FEAR: Doctor On Call
by Jed Rhodes
Summary: UNIT are sent in to investigate the incident at Fairport, where, after meeting up with a certain group of game survivors, they run into the right kind of Doctor...
1. Chapter 1

The call goes out at 11.37 PM. Though they have no real link to – well, anything to do with this project, they remember the old mission directive.

_"The odd, the unexplained. Anything on Earth… or beyond."_

This, the top brass feel, counts as both. Although the Americans don't really like UNIT getting involved in these sorts of missions, they let it happen, or rather, they don't openly side against them.

In the UNIT team's own minds, they wonder if they can take on something like this without… him. But they cannot contact him.

And they don't need him. Not really. This is not something they want him helping in. It's cut and dried.

They wish.

* * *

The team was to be a five man team at first, with a full company of support, just in case. In truth, none of them necessarily expected to need the support, but it was nice to know it was available. The team was to be as follows.

Lieutenant Carl Bateson was a soldier with experience in several different war zones. He was also the only one with combat experience with alien life forms, having fought alongside "the Brigadier" during the early nineties. He was tall, with brown crew-cut hair and brown eyes, hard features and a sombre manner.

Sergeant Leroy Spinelli was as experienced at terrestrial warfare as Bateson, but had no experience with alien invasions. He was red haired and cheerful.

Private Karen Cantrell was a relatively new attaché to UNIT and an inexperienced one at that, but she was a high scorer in most areas, especially on marksmanship (she could put a bullet in a Dalek's eyestalk from fifty paces, the rumour abounded, which was of course untrue. It was 65). She had short black hair, and blue eyes, and looked like a teenager when she was actually 25.

Private David Gordon was another new attaché, but one with a little combat experience in the regular US army. He was stocky, a little shorter than Bateson, with a thin moustache: he was a calm person and a calming influence, and he was also the medic for the team.

Finally, Private Richard Williams was a British Import. Little was known about him, but UNIT-UK trusted him, and so did the US version. Bearded and dark eyed, he looked the most sombre of the team.

The mission remit was simple. Find intel on the situation. Discover whether UNIT needed to go do its thing. Easy enough.

Little did they know what was about to happen. How inadequate any of their experience was, how far from easy any of it was going to be.

* * *

The entire team were inside an APC that would deliver them straight to Fairport city, where the mission would be executed. The APC in question had been loaned from Delta Force - one of their modern, multi-wheeled jobs with computer displays et al.

"Don't you Yanks have a team to deal with this sort of stuff?" Williams asked, cleaning his SMG.

"The F.E.A.R team, yes," Bateson said, ignoring the Englishman's condescending tone. "They're already there."

"And not doing any good, I gather, if UNIT are involved," Williams said, looking the American right in the eye. This was somewhat typical of the soldier's attitude.

"The F.E.A.R team is on the ground still, and is presumably continuing its investigations," Bateson said.

"You talk a lot of bull," Williams said. "We need the Doctor."

Karen looked up at this – it was the second time the imported UNIT trooper had mentioned a "doctor" like he was the definite article, and it made no sense to her. She shared a glance with Sergeant Spinelli, who just shrugged.

"I have no clue," he mouthed.

"We don't need the..._ expert_," Bateson said patiently. "He's a science man according to the files. We know the science. It's the combat part we've gotten to, and he's no good on that."

"No, because his way is better," Williams muttered, but he went back to his gun.

"Who is the Doctor?" Gordon asked, breaking his silence.

Bateson looked up, then shared a glance with Williams.

"He's a scientific advisor," Bateson said.

"Huh," Gordon said. "Not much science behind finding some intel. Hack a computer or two, job done."

"Theoretically," Williams said. "It's almost never that easy."

"Look," Bateson said, reaching the edge of his patience with Williams, who had proven insubordinate and sarcastic, as well as generally unlikable, "what is your thing with the Doctor?"

Williams looked up at him, a dark edge in his eyes.

"Let's just say, I've been in battles where we were outnumbered by monsters we couldn't even touch with our weapons," he said, after a moment's pause. "And he saved us all. Since then, I've put less faith in these," and here he patted the SMG, "and more faith in... 'sciencey stuff'."

"Well, this is going to be a simple mission," Bateson said, smiling.

"Uh, sir," their driver, a woman by the name of Laura Davis said, "I don't think you're right about that one."

Bateson looked at her, and then went to the front, before returning to the team in the back, ashen faced.

"What's wrong?" Karen asked.

"Let's just say, it just got a hell of a lot more complicated," he said. "We've got a few hours before we get there people. Try to catch some sleep. You'll need it."

He didn't tell them about the mushroom cloud _just_ yet. No need. Let them rest first.

* * *

When they finally got to the city, hours after they technically should, it was in ruins. There were occasional bodies lying around, and worse still, ash figures who would crumble to dust as the team walked. Nothing much to suggest the city as a place of life and light.

"Madness," Bateson muttered.

"Crazy shit," Gordon nodded sombrely.

Williams was cocking his ear, as if listening out for something. He'd been doing that more than once, listening to something only he had picked up on, and finally Cantrell had to call him on it.

"What?" she asked him. "What is it?"

"Can't you hear that?" Williams said, and then he grinned. Before anyone could stop him,. He was off in the direction of whatever noise he could hear.

"Come back here, trooper!" Sergeant Spinelli yelled.

"Wait," Bateson said, holding up a hand. "Can you hear that?"

There was something – Gordon was cocking his head too, and Karen could hear… a… trumpeting sound? Wheezing and groaning… it sounded ill at ease, and faded quickly, but it was there.

"What the hell?" Spinelli asked.

"My thoughts exactly," Bateson said, and he started running after Williams.

That's when they heard him scream.

* * *

Williams was down by the time they got there, and there were… things, of some variety, so many as to not even be believed, going for him and three more people who were there as well, people in military combat gear with guns, shooting at the creatures. Well, two of them had guns. The third, a woman, was taking care of Williams.

"Care to lend us a hand?" one of them yelled, apparently a Delta Force operative. The UNIT troops responded by unleashing hell on Earth (figuratively speaking) into the creatures, who soon retreated.

"Nice one," the Delta said. "You guys Delta?"

"No," Bateson said. "We're UNIT. Unified Intelligence Taskforce. We're here to investigate freaky shit."

"Freaky shit?" the other man said, a black man in a Delta Force uniform. "We've got freaky shit, don't worry. We've got more freaky shit than a freaky shit factory!"

"We noticed," Karen said, grimly, reloading her weapon. To her credit, her first live fire combat experience with non-terrestrial enemies seemed to have gone well.

"Who are you guys?" Gordon asked.

"I'm Sergeant Holiday, Delta Force," the black man said, indicating himself. "These guys are First Encounter Assault Recon people; that's Jin," he added, pointing at the woman, who waved, "and this is…" there was a moment's hesitation, and then the balaclava wearing man spoke.

"Wade," he said, his voice softer now.

"Well," Bateson said, "thanks for helping our friend out. What was he doing?"

"He looked like he was looking for something," Holiday said, "but they got him before he could do anything else."

"What?" Karen asked, but then the wheezing groaning sound started again, louder this time, and stronger.

To the amazement of all present, a blue box, nine foot tall with a lamp on top, appeared out of nowhere, almost as though it was ripping it's way into the universe, and a moment later, six guns were aimed at it.

"Alma?" Holiday asked.

"Nope," Wade said, softly. "It's too… well, weird weird, rather than fucked up freaky shit weird."  
"I know what that is," Bateson said, lowering his gun. He smiled grimly; Williams was about to get his wish.

A moment later, the box was solid, and a man – a man with messy black hair, a slightly oddly-proportioned face, a tweed jacket, black skinny jeans and a box tie – stepped out, looking at the box and talking even as he staggered slightly.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, "figured I'd landed somewhere normal, turns out there's a big sort of... psychic field thing..." he randomly waggled long fingers, before registering the people with guns.

"Hello," he said. "I'm the Doctor. Who are you?"

The military people looked at him as if he was mad.

"Oh, let me guess!" the man said, "the box always puts people off slightly... well, it's only a materialisation..."

And then there was a slight... none of the military types could have described it, though had the Doctor been watching he might have described it as a "matter reality bending experience, possibly due to massive telekinetic interference." As it stood, he was the one in the middle of it all, and he turned - somehow - from a bow tie wearing loon to a tall, bescarfed man in a hat.

"And that's simply explained," the new man said, uninterrupted, "by your average temporal theorising..."

Another "matter reality bending experience" occurred, and he turned into a shorter man in a straw hat with a garish jumper. The voice became a Scotts burr.

"... although obviously humans at yourrr level arrren't expected to be so advanced," he continued, seemingly unaware of the transformations, "so I'll forgive you your ignorance..."

And then, with a final contortion of reality, he was back to being in a bow tie.

"Now," he said, looking at them or a moment, his eyes suddenly gazing intently at the motley band. "Who are you all? You lot," he said, pointing to the UNIT team, "are obvious, he's," he added, pointing to Holiday, "a Sergeant, judging from the uniform a Delta Force operative, and those two," he continued, indicating, "are wearing First Encounter Assault Recon uniforms, suggesting a perceived paranormal presence, although actually most paranormal stuff is purely dimensional rifts. Or rogue Cybermen." Finally, the Doctor looked right behind the various humans. "And that appears to be a creepy little girl."

The humans turned - the UNIT team in confusion, the FEAR team and Delta in dread - to see a little girl in a red dress staring at them all.

"And who might you be?" the Doctor asked.


	2. Chapter 2

There was no immediate answer from her, not that Wade - the only name the man otherwise known only as the "first prototype" or "the point man" had - expected there to be one. She had spoken in indecipherable whispers and short, chilling sentences, laughter and crying all night, and that was to him, her first born son. There was no way this stranger could get a response.

"It's alright," the Doctor said, smiling benevolently at the little girl who had probably been among the most horrific things going on in the man calling himself Wade's day. "I can help you," he added.

The little girl made no obvious reply, and finally the man named Wade could take no more.

"She's dangerous, get away from her," he said. The Doctor gave him a look like he was an idiot, and for a moment, Wade thought he would say "how can a little girl be dangerous?" Amazingly, Wade was wrong.

"Well of course she's dangerous," the Doctor snapped. "Psychic energy field with reality warping effects, probably with the power to liquify with a thought judging by the psychic pressure she's exuding - which by the way is giving me a rather large headache - then there's her pallid skin tone, which suggests that she's manifesting in the physical form of a dead child…" He turned back to Alma. "And I bet all that means nobody ever just says hello to you, like a person should - do they?"

"You're insane," Holiday pointed out - the burly sergeant was standing, gun aimed right at the little girl. Slowly, Lieutenant Bateson approached him.*

"Just let the Doctor work," he said. He turned to make sure Williams - now being lifted up and dusted down by Gordon - was ok. "We at UNIT have learned to trust him."

"Is he a member of UNIT?" the FEAR woman - Jin Sun-Kwon - asked.

"Scientific adviser," the Doctor threw back at her over his shoulder. "Back in the seventies."

"I thought it was the eighties?" Bateson asked. The Doctor shushed him, keeping a close eye on Alma.*The child did nothing during this entire exchange, except stare daggers at the Doctor, and though he wasn't really looking, he could nonetheless catch glimpses of a painful life.*

"Let me help you," he asked, as quietly and kindly as he could.*

She said nothing, and didn't even move, so the Doctor sighed, and whipped out a small, brass device with a green light on the end. He started waving it at Alma, and all of a sudden… the air itself seemed to turn sepia, reality warping as the little girl's rage focused in on the Doctor - who was blown about twenty metres back, to land on his back. The UNIT people bolted after him, but the Point Man - who at this moment in time really didn't feel like being called Wade - stayed put, aiming his gun at the little girl.

_My baby._

He said nothing, but as she warped out of existence, he fell back with Jin and Holiday to find the Doctor… sitting up, alive and well and somehow, not liquified.

"Wow!" he said, excitably, "that was a rush! And by rush I mean a totally terrifying near-death experience I have no desire to repeat but wow!"

"Does he always babble this much?" Holiday asked irritably.

"Quite possibly," Williams said, smiling. "But rest assured - we're on the winning team with him."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Jin said, pointing behind them - and, to the horror of everyone present (except the Doctor, who stated in bemused wonder) more nightmares - legless floating monsters with lowing eyes, as well as deformed, featureless figures and near transparent, red glowing eyed figures - charged down the street. The UNIT, Delta Force and FEAR personnel aimed their weapons directly at the nightmares, already knowing they couldn't escape in tome, but the Doctor took out his brass device, and aimed it right at the horde. The green light turned on.

Almost as if they were hitting an invisible barrier, the Nightmares reached a point and just… vanished. The Doctor laughed, and eventually, all the nightmares had reached this point.*

"Psychic nullification field," the Doctor smiled, in a smug kind of way. "Whoever creepy little girl is, she's a sentient psychic imprint." His smile turned into an infectious grin. "I thought they were only theoretical. It's brilliant to finally meet one."

"Not so brilliant for the people she's killed and those who's deaths she's caused," Jin put in.

"Ah," the Doctor said, looking slightly abashed. "Well, my point is, she's not just a psychic imprint. She's a very _powerful _one - powerful enough to manifest those - psychic constructs. Hence, psychic nullification field, shuts off the constructs by cutting them off from their source."

"Could you cut her off the same way?" Jin asked, but the Doctor shook his head.

"They're non-sentient," he sighed. "She on the other hand is a real person, sentient and strong willed. I don't know if she can be destroyed, but I think she could be contained..."

"And how do we contain her?" Bateson asked.

"If you can contact your HQ, you could get an answer, a way to stop her," the Doctor said thoughtfully.

"That's _if _we could contact them," Holiday said scathingly. "Since the explosion we've been stuck here, out of contact, shooing those nightmares. We can't contact HQ."

"Explosion?" the Doctor asked, looking up at the sky.

"The Origin facility," Jin put in, looking up with him. "The Point Man - Wade over there," she nodded over at the man who had been toying with the name Wade, but was rapidly getting sick of it, "blew it up, hoping to stop Alma."

The Doctor looked over at Wade, and gave him a look that the Point Man took as "I know more about you than I'm letting on."

"Probably a mixture of interference from the explosion and increased psychic presence from the girl," the strange man said out loud. As he spoke, there was another reality warping event, and the Doctor turned into another man, with curly blonde hair. He was tall, wearing possibly the ugliest, most clashing coat in existence. He looked at the others; the UNIT personnel who knew about him knew about regeneration, but the FEAR team and Holiday were frankly bemused.

"Have you noticed those?" he asked, the new man speaking quickly, frowning confusedly. "I seem to be surrounded by some kind of intense psychic field…"

"You can tell?" Williams asked.

"Well obviously I can tell," the Doctor said irritably, and then the effect happened again, transforming him into a tall man with spiky hair, a brown suit and converse. "I'm in the middle of it. What's the effect like out there? It's kind of tingly in here…"

"You look like previous incarnations," Bateson said softly. "You seem to be cycling through." The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"Oh," he said. "Brilliant. Molto bene."

"Why you speaking Italian?" Spinelli put in.

"I didn't," the Doctor said confusedly, then he spasmed, grabbed his chest, and looked in a mirror. To him, he looked no different. "It's a perception thing. It's…" he spasmed again and suddenly the reality warp appeared again, this time returning him back to his bow tie wearing form. "Ah, that's better. It's like someone's scanning me, looking through my history. Probably her. It's affecting my physical appearance because I'm a four dimensional being…"

"You're a what now?" Holiday asked.

"… and thus your perception gets warped by her scans, sending my physical parameters all over the shop," he finished. "Which is slightly embarrassing but never mind. Everyone into the TARDIS!"

He headed for his box, but slowly came to a stop when he realised everyone was looking at him. "And here's the fun part," he smiled. "All you lot, you've been seeing scary stuff. Call it dark magic. It's not actually dark magic but let's call it that as a metaphor." He grinned manically. "Here's where we lighten the mood."*

He indicated that they should all stand in front of the box, then snapped his fingers, and as the doors opened behind him, he smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

It was _bigger on the inside…_it had balconies, stairs and a large, six sided central control panel covered in a variety of strange controls. The walls were covered in hexagonal and circular light fittings. The small band of UNIT, SFOD-D and FEAR troopers entered the room with more than a little trepidation.

"Go on in," the Doctor said, "I'd argue it's safer in here than out there."

"Man, whatever that little laser thing of yours is, it's sure got some crazy narcotics in it," Holiday said, awestruck by the room.

"You mean this?" the Doctor asked, holding up the device. "Sonic screwdriver, but… I've done nothing to you. I assure you, this room is entirely real. As are the rest…"

"The rest?" Jin asked, looking at him in bewilderment. "You mean there's actually _more?_"

"Oh, this is just the start," the Doctor smiled, bounding up the stairs. "This thing is called the TARDIS. Stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space, it's dimensionally transcendental - the complicated way of saying bigger on the inside - and has a coffee machine in the kitchen, _if you're interested._" The Doctor looked down at the little band of humans. "Any questions?"

The Point Man tilted his head. Three things were obvious - this guy was a bit mad, this guy was incredibly smart and difficult to scare, and this guy was definitely not your run of the mil human. Or possibly even human full stop. It amazed the Point Man how quickly that particular revelation came to him, but then again, when one's mother is an incredibly powerful and homicidal psychic ghost and one's brother is an insane cannibalistic psychic commander of a Clone Army, one tends to re-evaluate one's traditional ideas of sane/not sane.

* * *

The Doctor had been very specific to them that they not wander off, and they didn't. Then the near constant awestruck staring and chattering had annoyed him, so he put them in a different room and told them to wait, so wait they did. Now here he was, trying to clear away psychic interference. Not easy but he hadn't supposed it would be.

_"She's confused by you,"_a voice said, and the Doctor looked up to see a man, bald and bearded, in the FEAR uniform staring at him. This wouldn't have been half as disconcerting as it ended up being if he had still had his eyes but sadly he did not. The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the man; the readings were odd. He wasn't dead, not exactly. It was as if he was more than psychic imprint, less than full blooded human.

"What are you?" the Doctor asked softly.

_"Spencer Jankowski, Lieutenant, First Encounter Assault Recon,"_the phantom said.*

"That's who," the Doctor said sadly. "You must know you aren't _just_a man anymore."

_"She doesn't know what you are or why you're here,"_ the phantom said, as if it hadn't heard. _"You're new."_

"Really," the Doctor said, disbelieving him. "Is she scared?"

In reply, the phantom vanished… and in his place, another reality warp began to happen. The Doctor scanned it, and then grimaced as something suddenly grabbed his arms and slammed him against his own railings.*

A woman. Naked, with long black hair, staring at him angrily. He recognised her a split second later as being Alma Wade, the little girl, suddenly grown up.

**"GO AWAY!" **she yelled into his face, and she started pushing, threatening to break his back against his own railings.

A gunshot punctuated the air. Then another. Then a third, and Alma vanished with the same sepia effect that she had arrived with. The Doctor looked up, to see the Point Man staring at him grimly.

"She's gotten scarier," the Doctor said. "And I don't think she likes me."*

"Goes without saying," the Point Man replied softly. "She doesn't like anyone. Not even me."

A moment's pause lay between them, and then the Doctor asked a question.

"You said your name was Wade," he said. "But your friends seem content to call you 'point man'."

"Point Man is my position in my squad," the Point Man - Wade? - replied. "Wade was my Mother's name. I'm not known by it but it is mine by rights."

"You aren't sure whether you like it though," the Doctor said.

"She's insane and evil," the Point Man replied. "Would you like it?"

"Well, I'm not one to lecture on names," the Doctor said, sighing. "I don't particularly like mine either."

"What is it?" the Point Man asked. The Doctor looked around; technically this was important, his full name. He should really only share it with others on important days, and then only with family… but what the hell.

"Promise not to tell," the Doctor said.

"Promise," the Point Man replied. The Doctor told him. It was a long name and the Point Man was vaguely certain he'd never be able to repeat it - but there it was. The Point Man smiled.*

Then the hexagonal console started beeping. The Doctor went to it, and checked a monitor that hung from above.

"Ah," he said, smiling. "We've cleared your communications, but I don't think for long. Best gather your posse; time to go out again."

* * *

Holiday was currently trying to get confirmation from Delta Force's field commander Den Mother as to what was going on. FEAR's co-ordinator had a simple order for the Point Man and Jin - to stop Alma however they could. The UNIT troopers were ordered to give whatever support they could - and the Doctor, much to the man's displeasure, was ordered to assist.

"I keep saying I left ages ago," he muttered.

"You never bothered penning a resignation and this is what you get for it," Bateson replied, grinning. "I sympathise, truly I do."

"Yeah yeah, you're just lucky it was Lethbridge-Stewart who asked me to help or you'd be on your own," the Doctor said scathingly.

"As if," Cantrell grinned. Spinelli nodded.

"Ok," Holiday said, interrupting the talking with his commanding voice. "Den Mother's just sent me the latest - apparently, Delta Force team Dark Signal was despatched to capture Genevieve Aristide, but contact was lost, until just now: 'parrently, their signals' have shown up again on Still Island Nuclear Facility." grimaced. "I know their squad leader - Cedric Griffin's a good guy. Whatever they're doing there, you just bet it's part of stopping this unnatural shit."

"Alma?" Jin asked.

"Den Mother didn't say anything about her and I don't wanna tell him," Holiday sighed. "I'll assume that Dark Signal's caught up in this, but even if they weren't, Griffin's team are pro's - we could use them. Hell, one of them reminds me of you buddy," theaster Sergeant said to the Point Man, who raised an eyebrow.

"So what're we waiting for?" Spinelli asked. "This hanging around really bugs me..."

He was cut off by a burst of SMG fire tearing through him. Out of the ruins sprang an army of identical figures, armed with similar weapons and armoured in green camo combat armour.

"Replicas!" the Point Man yelled.


End file.
